The Mythology Quiz Book
David Clark
© David Clark 2011
Introduction
In 1981 I won Mastermind. Oh, if you go to the record books you might find that the TV show Mastermind was won that year by Leslie Grout. But I don’t mean that Mastermind. I mean Elthorne High School Mastermind, in Hanwell, West London. It was the first ever running of the competition, and my specialist subject was Greek Mythology. I’ve always had a love of the subject. By the time that I won the other Mastermind, the BBC one in 2008 I had long since given way to pragmatism, and settled for specialist subjects with rather less to learn. Nonetheless it has remained a love of mine ever since.
Of course, you’ll find far more than Greek and Roman Mythology here – Egyptian – Mesopotamian – Norse – the list goes on. It’s a great, staple quiz subject, but I’ve tried to go some way beyond what you’re ever likely to be asked in a pub quiz. I sincerely hope that you’ll enjoy this collection that I’ve put together for you.
Rounds
Counterparts
Mesopotamia - 1
Odin
Greece - Heracles - 1
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Mesoamerica
Greece – The Trojan Wars - 1
Thor
Egypt – 1
Heroes
Villains
Roman – but not Greek
Greece – The Trojan Wars – 2
Norse Mythology – General -1
Beowulf
Arthurian Legend - 1
Celtic Myths
Greece – Heracles – 2
Around the World
Norse Mythology – General – 2
The Arabian Nights
Greece – The Quest for the Golden Fleece
Creature Feature 1 – Dogs and Horses
Where from ?
Pot Pourri - 1
Greece – Odysseus
Creature Feature 2 – Name that Monster
Festivals
Books - 1
Robin Hood
Kiddies Corner
Zeus and His Conquests
Mythical Objects
The Silver Screen - 1
Norse Mythology – General – 3
Pot Pourri – 2
Monster Mix and Match
Aesop’s Fables
Perseus
Flood Myths
Halloween
Theseus
Mesopotamia – 2
Egypt – 2 – Gods’ heads
Vampires and others
Angels and Demons
Arthurian Legend – 2
Books – 2
The Silver Screen – 2
Pot Pourri – 3
1 Counterparts
Name the roman counterparts of these Greek Gods and Goddesses
Zeus
Hermes
Dionysus
Athena
Aphrodite
Hephaestos
Artemis
Ares
Hestia
Nike
2 Mesopotamia 1
In the Babylonian version of the Creation Myth, the story begins with two beings – Apsu and Tiamat. What do they represent ?
In the same myth, who kills Tiamat, and uses her body to create Heaven and the Earth ?
Why did the Gods create human beings ?
What was the name of the sky god , the supreme God of all in Mesopotamian mythology?
Which Goddess is associated with the morning or evening star ?
Ea – or Enki – was the embodiment of what ? (Several answers are possible )
Who was the Goddess of the Underworld ?
– and what were the inhabitants of the Underworld forced to eat ?
What name was given to stepped Mesopotamian temples, the topmost floor of which were believed to be inhabited by Gods ?
To which deity was the eighth gate of the inner walls of the city of Babylon dedicated ?
3 Norse Mythology - Odin
What feature did Odin lack ?
And how did he come to lose it ?
What were Huginn and Muninn, that bring information to Odin from across the world ?
What is particularly noticeable about Odin’s horse, Sleipnir ?
What did Odin’s ring Draupnir do every ninth night ?
What is the name of the hall where Odin receives the souls of warriors slain in battle ?
– and how many doors did Odin have built in this hall ?
What is the name of Odin’s wife ?
Which useful ability was possessed by Odin’s spear Gungnir ?
In Ragnarok, who is destined to kill Odin ?
4 Heracles - 1
Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Who was Alcmene’s husband ?
Heracles was also the great grandson , through his mother, of which older hero ?
Heracles had a twin brother, who was sired by Alcmene’s husband – what was his twin brother’s name ?
Which monsters did Heracles kill when he was still in his crib ?
How did Heracles kill his tutor, Linus ?
In a fit of madness, Heracles killed his children by his first wife. What was her name ?
Which herb was used to cure this fit of madness ?
Who or what told Heracles that he must serve his cousin King Eurystheus as a penance for killing his children ?
Heracles was one of the original Argonauts, but he was left behind when he went searching for which other Argonaut, kidnapped by a lovesick nymph ?
During his visit to the Underworld, which other great hero was freed by Heracles from a chair from which he could not rise ?
5 The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh has come down to us from 12 clay tablets from the library of which King of Assyria ?
What is the name of the companion for Gilgamesh created by the Gods ?
The Gods create the companion to distract Gilgamesh from oppressing the citizens of which city ?
What is the name of the guardian of Cedar mountain, whom the pair of them defeat ?
Who sends a bull to punish Gilgamesh for spurning her advances ?
Why does Gilgamesh go to see Utnapishtim ?
How did Utnapishtim win distinction from the Gods ?
Where does Utnapishtim tell Gilgamesh that he will find a plant that can make him young again ?
How does Gilgamesh manage to achieve the plant ?
Who or what steals this plant ?
6 Mesoamerica
What form was taken by the God Quetzalcoatl in Aztec Mythology ?
– and what name was given to the same deity in earlier Mayan mythology ?
Which Mesoamerican hero now gives his name to a volcano ?
Which two word phrase is often used to describe the important God Tezcatlipoca ?
What is the title of the book, literally The Book of The People, which contains, amongst others, the Mayan Creation Myth ?
Research has established how many Gods as being central to the early Olmec Mythology?
Which Aztec Ruler believed at first that Hernan Cortez was the reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl ?
Which city contains huge Mexican pyramids which the Aztecs later dedicated to the Sun and Moon Gods ?
In Aztec myth, the Aztecs settled on the site of Tenochtitlan when they saw which creature on a cactus ?
In Aztec mythology , where is Mictlan ?
7 Greece – The Trojan Wars - 1
When Paris was approached to judge which of the three Goddesses should have the Golden Apple, where was he, and what was he doing ?
What were the names of Paris’ mother and father ?
Which Goddess did he give the apple to, and what did she promise him as a reward ?
Name Helen’s brothers
– and also her twin sister .
Helen’s husband, Menelaus, was king of where ?
What was the name of Menelaus’ brother, who commanded the united Greek forces ?
Which hero unsuccessfully pretended to be mad to try to avoid serving in the war ?
What was the name of Achilles’ mother ?
– and why was his heel vulnerable ?
8 Norse Mythology – Thor
Who is Thor’s father ?
Thor is traditionally depicted with which implement ?
– and what is its name ?
Which creatures pull Thor’s chariot
In Ragnarok, which creature will Thor kill, then drop dead after their titanic fight ?
The giant Þrymr marries Thor, when he is dressed up pretending to be which goddess ?
The giant Utgard Loki refuses to wrestle with Thor until he proves his strength. With whom does he let Thor wrestle ?
What is the name of Thor’s wife ?
The German word for which type of weather is derived from the old German version of Thor’s name ?
Which article of Thor’s enables him to double in size ?
9 Egypt – 1
Which Gods and Goddesses were the 4 children of Nut and Geb ?
Who killed Osiris ?
Isis manages to temporarily resurrect Osiris, so that they can conceive which God ?
In Egyptian mythology, what name was given to the sun disk , worshipped as the only god during the Amarna kingdom ?
Which jackal headed God aids Osiris in his position of God of the Dead ?
Which Goddess is sometimes depicted as a cow ?
Who was the Egyptian God of Learning and Wisdom ?
The eye of which God was thought to be a powerful charm, and often depicted on amulets ?
How did the sun god Ra or Re move across the sky ?
Osiris is usually depicted holding which two objects ?
10 Heroes
Who was the father of King Arthur ?
Which Norse hero killed the dragon Fafnir ?
– and what did he get for doing it ?
Which Irish hero built the Giants Causeway ?
Which Greek hero slew the Chimaera ?
– and which mythical creature helped him ?
What is the name of the Prince of Dyfed, who is the hero of the first story in the Mabinogion ?
Which of Arthur’s Knights played a deadly game with a green Knight ?
– and what was the exact nature of this game ?
Which Greek hero rescued Andromeda from a sea monster ?
11 Villains
What is the name of Arthur’s nephew, who rebels against him ?
In Norse Mythology, who is the father of Hel, Fenris and the Midgard Serpent ?
– and for which crime is he chained up using the entrails of his sons as fetters ?
Who is the brother of Branwen who foments trouble at the wedding feast of Branwen and Matholwch, King of Ireland ?
Which King of Crete imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus, to prevent Daedalus from ever giving away the secrets of the labyrinth ?
– and what was the name of the creature that he kept in the labyrinth ?
What is the name of the last giant slain by Jack the Giant Killer ?
What is the real name of the Green Knight ?
Who is the leader of the Giants in the Norse Ragnarok ?
Which king deposed Jason’s father, and sent him on the quest for the Golden Fleece
12 Roman but not Greek
What is the distinctive feature of the God Janus ?
Which Persian deity was adopted particularly by members of the Roman Army ?
– and on what day was this deity born ?
Which original roman god of the underworld, inherited from the Etruscans, had a name which was later reused by Tolkein ?
The legendary founder of Rome, Romulus, was born where, along with his twin brother Remus ?
The Sacred Virgins of Rome were dedicated specifically to the service of which deity ?
Which Trojan Prince was the legendary founder of the Latin race, that eventually became the romans ?
According to Roman legend, which Trojan noble founded the isle of Britain ?
What names were given to the household Gods of each roman dwelling ?
In Roman legend, the first men of Rome found wives for themselves by stealing women from which people ?
13 Greece – The Trojan Wars – 2
Of which country was Odysseus the king ?
Which hero, the bearer of the bow and arrows of Heracles, was bitten by a snake , and left behind on Lemnos because the wound festered, and smelled so bad ?
Achilles’ argument with Agamemnon stemmed from Agamemnon claiming which slave girl from Achilles ?
Which God struck down the greek army with plague, when they refused to hand back the daughter of his priest, Chryses ?
Which two heroes fought a duel to try to settle the war ?
– and how did this duel end ?
What was the name of Achilles’ friend, to whom he lent his armour ?
– and who killed him, and so took his armour ?
What was the name of the wife of Hector ?
Who actually killed Achilles ?
14 Norse Mythology – General – 1
What did most of the Gods of Asgard, excluding Njord, and his children Frey and Freyja, call themselves ?
- and which group of deities did Njord and his family belong to ?
What is the name of the giant ash tree that holds the three levels of the world in Norse mythology ?
– and what are those levels ?
What is the name of the rainbow bridge that connects earth and the heavens ?
– and which God guards the bridge ?
What was the name of the most beautiful of the male gods ?
– and what was the substance that killed him ?
Which God gave his hand in a pledge of good faith so that the Gods would be able to chain up the wolf, Fenrir ?
Whose apples keep the Gods eternally young ?
15 Beowulf
Beowulf was a member of which people ?
Who was the king whose new hall was threatened by a monster, who needed Beowulf’s help ?
– and what was the name of the monster ?
How did Grendel manage to escape from Beowulf ?
Grendel’s death raised which other monster ?
How did Beowulf defeat this second monster ?
After defeating the second monster, what does Beowulf bring back with him ?
How many years is it after this second battle that Beowulf fights a dragon ?
What is it that makes the dragon leave its cave ?
What is the name of the only one of Beowulf’s companions who stays to see him overcome the dragon, but die as a result of the fight ?
16 Arthurian Legends - 1